Inevitable
by CypressTiger
Summary: Prompt 62: Snape couldn't decide which part of it was worse being sold as a slave, or having to stand on that platform, having his teeth examined and fertility discussed by the potential buyers.


Title: Inevitable  
Working Title: #62  
Author: CypressTiger  
Anime/Book: Harry Potter  
Rating: PG  
Pairings: Lucius/Snape (implied, non-con)  
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, etc. etc.  
Summary: "Prompt 62: Snape couldn't decide which part of it was worse - being sold as a slave, or having to stand on that platform, having his teeth examined and fertility discussed by the potential buyers."  
Author's Note: I was purposefully vague and cliffy because I wanted to let the readers put their own spin on it.

------------------------------------------------------

I wake from my short and fitful slumber to the hell that my life has become. The reason for my wakefulness stands looming over me flexing the muscles in his leg as if aching to kick me again. I stand as quickly as my dehydrated and malnourished body will allow. One kick in the head per day is one kick too many. My sadistic caretaker connects a thick leather leash to my temporary steel collar and tugs hard to make me follow. As if I have a choice.

I can hear the large crowd arguing over the last of the women slaves. It sounds as if a fight has broken out between the bidders. As I am dragged onto the makeshift stage, my hands are shackled to the posts mounted directly in front of the audience. I smirk when the guards fail to tie my ankles to the ground. They will regret it. I can feel the crowd watching me, judging me; I despise their scrutinizing stares. Far too many eyes dart to the thin piece of cloth that is hiding what is left of my dignity. I sneer at those who have approached the stage for a closer look. A lifetime of servitude and slavery must better than being examined like a side of meat.

I can hear the auctioneer begin his discourse on my lineage and education. I nearly flinch as his fingers manipulate my jaw. Unfortunately he has learned not to put anything in my mouth. He has two injuries to show for that; including one that cannot be shown in public. I become aware of a hideous, portly old woman using a monocle to get a better look at me. I scowl and glare at the woman, hoping to chase her away. When she speaks I am slightly surprised to hear a very high pitched voice in the place of a low croak.

"But he's so old! How can you guarantee his fertility?"

"Madam, how could you doubt this?" Startled, I fail to move away as the auctioneer lifts the thin cloth around my waist. Unable to move the cloth back into place with my hands, I resort to giving the auctioneer a swift kick in his groin. The guards quickly respond, shackling my ankles to the posts, spreading my legs and disabling my ability to move. The auctioneer slowly stands upright and calls an end to the whipping. He shifts his long blond hair over his shoulder before approaching me. He takes a whip from the guards and begins to carve long, painful marks into the skin of my back.

A shout in the crowd draws his attention away from me. I convince myself that I am standing on my own and that the posts have nothing to do with it. I lost count of how many lashes I had to endure. The auctioneer flips his hair over his shoulder once again as he accepts the first bid. All my effort to avoid purchase came to naught. I had only delayed the inevitable.

I listen intently as the bidding rises. When the audience reaches seven hundred galleons I notice that only two men are bidding. The first man is a handsome creature with a sinister smile. His dark eyes and patrician features give him a cold and hardened appearance. I fear him almost instantaneously. The other bidder is an ancient man with a long white beard. His eyes twinkle behind his half-moon glasses, filling me with a sense of calm.

I am shocked to hear the prices rising rapidly between the two men. I cannot comprehend why either man would wish to take me as their slave. The price exceeds two thousand galleons and the entire crowd falls into a hush as the two men bid back and forth rapidly. As the price rises above four thousand, the auctioneer cannot keep the smile from his face. After all, the bids are higher for me than for all of the women's prices combined. The bidding continues climbing slowly until a strange new voice shouts out his bid of six thousand galleons.

The entire crowd turns as one. I cannot see the new bidder. I cannot tell if it was the voice of a woman or a man. The man with a sinister smile raises the bidding once more to seven thousand. The stranger rises to the challenge and bids eight thousand. They continue on this vein for quite a while until the old man bids once more, calling out a bid of twenty-five thousand galleons. The bidding jumps higher and much faster than before until I hear that strange voice call his newest bid.

"I bid Sixty-two thousand galleons!"

The auctioneer looks to the old man for a challenge, the man shakes his head, and I am dismayed. The younger patrician has lost his sinister smile, he cannot bid. The unseen bidder approaches the stage. My wrists are moved to heavy iron bindings and my collar removed before I am dragged over to my new master. As I get closer, I lower my eyes unwilling to hope for a kind master. My life rests in the hands of a person I've never seen. I close my eyes and pray for mercy. I open my eyes to see a brilliant smile on my Master's face. His smile is a kind one, a smile that fills me with hope.

_Alternatively (if you like evil endings):_

"I open my eyes and I am instantly confronted with an unwavering gaze. A shiver runs down my spine."

------------------------------------------------------

I also didn't identify any of the characters by name so here are the characters (in order of description) in case you couldn't figure it out: Dolores Umbridge, Lucius Malfoy, Tom Riddle, Albus Dumbledore. I won't tell you who the highest bidder is so you can choose for yourself.


End file.
